Shops in Berlin have already been affected by falling numbers of customers
French President Emmanuel Macron announced an enforced lockdown,
a step similar to curbs imposed by Italy and Spain, saying: "We're in a
health war".
Mr Macron also said the European Union's external borders would
be closed to travellers from Tuesday.
In Germany, most non-grocery shops and venues have been ordered
to shut.
Chancellor Angela Merkel also banned religious services and told
people to cancel any domestic or foreign holiday travel. Schools across the
country have already been shut.
In the UK, Prime Minister Boris Johnson
did not announce compulsory restrictions but urged people to avoid pubs and
clubs and refrain from non-essential travel or having contact
with others.
§
A visual guide to the pandemic
Earlier, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said governments were not doing enough to combat
the pandemic, and urged them to step up their testing programmes.
"You can't fight a fire blindfolded and we can't stop this
pandemic if we don't know who is infected," he said at a news conference
in Geneva. "We have a simple message for all countries: test, test,
test."
There have been more than 174,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus
globally and over 6,700 deaths, according to a tally from Johns
Hopkins University.
What is France doing?
In a televised evening address, President Macron ordered people
to stay at home and only go out for essential duties. He said the previous
measures, including the closing of schools, cafes and non-essential shops, had
proved insufficient.
"Even while medics were warning about the gravity of the
situation, we saw people get together in the parks, busy markets and
restaurants and bars that did not respect the order to close," he said in
the 20-minute address.
The restrictions will be in place for at least 15 days, Mr
Macron added, vowing to punish any infringement. The government later said more
than 100,000 officers would be deployed nationwide to enforce the lockdown.
President Macron also said the army would be used to help
transport the sick to hospital and that the second round of local elections due
this weekend was being postponed. He also offered reassurance to businesses,
saying: "No French company, whatever its size, will be exposed to the risk
of collapse".
On Monday, the head of the
country's health service, Jerome Salomon, said the outbreak was "very
worrying" and "deteriorating very fast". France has so far
registered more than 6,000 infections and 148 deaths.
The country will close its land borders from midday (11:00 GMT)
on Tuesday, when the EU's external borders and the Shenghen borderless zone
will also be shut, Mr Macron said.
Under a proposal announced by the European Commission earlier,
non-essential foreign travel would be banned for 30 days. Long-term residents,
family members of EU nationals and diplomats would be exempt as well as
cross-border and healthcare workers and people transporting goods.